“This page is a digitally archived AccessInfo Announcement”
To implement the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules in April 2013 that among other things:
- Required broadcasters to provide an aural representation of visual, non-textual emergency information, (such as radar maps or other graphics) on a secondary audio stream.
- Established a compliance deadline of May 26, 2015.
In response to a petition from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Media Bureau granted an 18-month waiver of the requirement to give the broadcast industry time to develop a technical solution for compliance. That waiver was set to expire on November 26, 2016.
The NAB, American Council of the Blind (ACB), and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) jointly requested that the FCC extend this waiver for an additional 18 months.
On November 16, 2016, the Media Bureau extended the deadline.
- The Petitioners are required to provide a status report to the Media Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau on efforts to develop a technical solution. This report is due on November 22, 2017.
- The extended waiver will expire on May 26, 2018.
For more information, contact Maria Mullarkey in the Media Bureau at (202) 418-2120 or Maria.Mullarkey@fcc.gov.
Links to the Memorandum Opinion and Order:
Word: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-1284A1.docx
PDF: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-1284A1.pdf
Text: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-1284A1.txt
Links to the Public Notice:
Word: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-1137A1.doc
PDF: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-1137A1.pdf
Text: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-16-1137A1.txt
Link to the ACB, AFB, and NAB 2016 Joint Petition:
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10902322223258/AudibleCrawlsJointExtensionPetition090216.pdf
Links to the Order that granted a waiver until November 26, 2016:
Word: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-15-632A1.docx
PDF: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-15-632A1.pdf
Text: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-15-632A1.txt
To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). For those using videophones and fluent in American Sign Language, you may call the ASL Consumer Support Line at 844-432-2275.